Farm and Grazing lands in California decreased by more than 1.4 million acres between 1984 and 2010. This is larger than the size of Merced County. This loss averages just under 54,000 acres per year, or about one square mile every four days.

The type of farmland with the largest decrease has been Prime Farmland, the best soils for agricultural production. Prime Farmland losses were just under 662,000 acres between 1984 and 2010, larger than the size of Yolo County.

Urbanization accounts for the vast majority of this loss, nearly 1.1 million acres over the 1984-2010 timeframe. This is nearly the size of Sonoma County.

Other major causes for farmland loss include low density rural residences, mining, and ecological restoration projects. These totaled more than 291,000 acres between 1984 and 2010; nearly one quarter of the scale of urbanization.